This chapter guys...I don't even know what happened. One second I was editing it and and the next I'd removed and written the whole last part. I'm a mess.
Welp.
Anyway, here we branch off from the original CP, at least more blatantly, and I hope no one will drag me for them. One more warning for any of those who are reading this, canon characters will be changed slightly, original world building, mythology, and original characters will be in this story. If no one can take it, then I suggest you back out now.
Thank you to all those who faved and followed your silent support is appreciated, and to my few reviewers, thank you.
Constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I'm especially excited for everyone's thoughts on this chapter, so...
Review?
That morning, I woke up feeling anxious, a deep feeling of unsettlement rolling in my stomach. I knew the reason of my discomfort -of course I did. Today would be the day of the van incident, and I just knew that somehow, I'd be involved. The prospect was terrifying, because unlike Bella, I wouldn't have a vampire there to save my skin, and I'd end up a bright red splotch on the tar.
Nice.
I lay staring at the ceiling, thinking of all the ways I could try and and avoid the inevitable. I could fake sickness and skip school for the day, but I didn't feel good taking advantage of an already concerned Nina like that by giving a false alarm. It wouldn't be right.
With a resigned sigh, I tossed over and buried my face in my fluffy pillow, inwardly groaning at my situation.
Actually, speaking of Bella, where the hell was she? She was supposed to arrive around the same time I did, but it had been maybe two weeks since my arrival in Forks and still no sign. Her father was here, that I knew because I occasionally saw him in his cruiser driving around and patrolling. Where was she then? Wasn't she supposed to swoop in and attract all these weird events, therefore keeping the rest of us secure by default?
And if she wasn't here, and I was, what exactly did that mean? Did my subconscious hate her so much that it removed her from existence in this world all together? I'd never much like Bella, yes, but to create a reality in which she didn't exist? Was I supposed to take her place then?
Sighing again, I swung my legs off the bed and headed on over to the bathroom to get ready. Maybe I'd just be late and skip the whole van incident altogether.
I took a long shower, leisurely brushed my teeth, actually tried to tame the purple bush that passed as my hair, and slowly got dressed in a pair of black woolen stockings, a black and white woolen skirt, and a long sleeved black top that had my surname printed on top, the shirt from a long passed family vacation in which we had all been divided into teams by surname. I also pulled on a grey beany and black gloves with black boots. I decided to let my hair loose as well. The thickness of it would protect my neck from the cold so I wouldn't need a scarf. Forks was freezing, and I'd need the warmth.
I grabbed my phone on my way out, along with my backpack, before making my way downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, habibi. You slept well I assume?" My aunt asked as soon as entered the kitchen.
"In this cold?" Nina asked as she flipped a pancake. "I turned the heat all the way up and my feet still froze." She grumbled.
I laughed. "I was pretty warm actually." I gloated, making her roll her eyes. I sat down next to my aunt, putting down my bag by my feet.
"Good." Aunty Zaho said in a pleased voice, before humming thoughtfully. "The roads are quite dangerous in this weather, if you want I could drop you off, yes?" She asked, though not really paying attention, instead replying to someone on her PDA.
I was tempted to accept, but even despite the possibility of avoiding imminent danger, I didn't want to be a bother. "Its quite alright really." I replied, grinning broadly when a heaping plate of fatty goodness was placed in front of me.
"Alright then." She acknowledged. "I won't be here when you get home. I'm flying over to New York so I can start seeing the preparations for Fashion Week. I'll be back by the weekend. Hopefully anyway. Nina will be going with me. I can arrange someone to stay with you while we're gone if you like?" She asked, putting down the phone and turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow. Leaving me home alone,with no one to watch over me obviously didn't sit well with her, but I simply shook my head.
"I can stay alone. It's fine." I answered, shoving another piece of food in my mouth. My aunt gave me a critical once over, before nodding slowly.
"I trust you. You're a big girl." She said, caressing my cheek with a soft smile, which I returned as best as I could with a fork in my mouth, "If you have any boys over, at least use protection. I'm too young to be an aunt." She joked and I rolled my eyes.
"I'll be sure to stock up." I answered, drinking some of the milk in the glass in front of me. She laughed before finishing her tea and standing up to leave.
"Until then, habibi." She said and I nodded. Nina smiled at me before collecting my now empty plate.
"Are you sure you want to stay alone? I can stay if you want." She offered, but I shook my head. Nina was literally my Aunt's right hand woman, I couldn't take her away from work. "Really, I'll be fine. It's just one week." I answered, getting my keys from the bowl in the middle of the island and picking up my school bag.
"…Alright then." Nina acquiesced, yet she was still hesitant. I smiled one last time in an attempt to reassure her, though it didn't much work.
After chugging down my daily dose of medication (which still seemed to be having no effect whatsoever), I got my coat from the hanger by the door, and was extra careful when I made my way down the driveway towards my car. Luckily, my boots had rubber soles so they gripped the ground. I didn't even slip once.
When I got into the car, and I heaved one last weary sigh and made my way to Forks high, hoping that maybe fate would be kind.
Knowing my luck, probably not.
The school parking lot was mostly full by the time I arrived, and I banged my head on the steering wheel when I saw no signs of a white van anywhere.
So much for avoiding it all.
Groaning loudly at my life, I switched off the ignition and unplugged my phone with a pout on my face, but when I glanced up again, I caught Edward staring at me with a slight smirk of amusement on his handsome face.
I was embarrassed that I'd so easily fallen victim to his looks like another one of his mindless fan girls. There was much more to him than just his looks, and I told myself to stop acting shallow.
But Gods, it was like he didn't know what he did to the female population. In an attempt to seem normal, I sent a friendly smile his way, just like I would any other person, -because Edward was most definitely not special- and much to my surprise, his smirk brightened into an actual smile. Like an honest to Gods genuine smile.
Luckily for me before I could embarrass myself and pass out in my car seat, there was a tap at the window. I forcibly pried my eyes away from Edward and looked to see who it was.
It was Angela, surprisingly and she was looking slightly hesitant. Mentally I thanked her for the distraction. I was slipping in concentration too much these days and if I didn't pull myself together, Gods only knew what would happen.
I got out and hugged her.
"Hey Angela, what's up?" I asked as we started walking together arm in arm.
"I was wondering if maybe you could maybe help me with the math homework before school starts. Its not much, just a few problems I didn't understand." She said, looking shy.
"You're having math problems?" I drawled, raising a brow at her, and she flushed in embarrassment.
"I just can't get it, and I've tried and tried but-" she cut herself off with a frustrated sound, waving her free hand around in aggravation, and I coughed in an attempt to hide my laughter. Angela was a maths whiz, and the fact that she of all people was having problems, was hilarious.
"Well, I'm not a maths genius like you but..." We stopped by her white Toyota. "Lemme take a look." I said, and she smiled gratefully before taking out the books from her backpack and placing them on the boot. She explained to me what she didn't understand and I saw the problem after a few seconds.
"Well, what you're doing wrong is multiplying these two numbers first in the equation. Have you ever heard of PEMDAS?" I asked and she shook her head so I took her pencil and wrote at the back for her.
"Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. Follow that and you shouldn't ever have a problem." I said, underlining each, before going back to the problem. "So you take care of that first, right? And then when you get the result you can mov-" But my explanation was cut off by a loud screech sounding throughout the whole parking lot. Our heads snapped up in horror as we watched the blue van come barreling towards us.
Well, I knew it, fate was indeed a bitch.
"Angela, we have to move. Move now!" I told her frantically, turning to the terrified Latin girl next to me, trying to pull her along. Unfortunately she was frozen in place and wasn't moving, her eyes fixated on the van in terror. I waved my hands frantically in front of her face but she was so deeply retreated into herself she didn't even flinch away.
Tyler's van was coming in fast, and I knew with the way Angela had gone into shock, I wouldn't have time to get both of us out of the danger zone, so instead I quickly regained my bearings and stopped panicking, focusing on saving Angela. It was my bloody karma that had caused this mess, it wouldn't be fair for her to die too.
"Come on Ange, you're not dying today. I muttered determinedly, decision made. I quickly moved behind her and kicked the back of her knees so that she would fall into me and just before I felt the ton of bricks hit me, pushed her away with all of my strength. The ice underfoot did its job, and she slid with a cry of surprise, but her momentum carried her far enough to safety.
Screams filled the area but I didn't really hear them. Instead the wind was knocked out of my lungs by the bulldozer which had just careened into me.
Edward, I realised with shock.
We slid backwards and hit Angela's car hard, but before I could even register what happened, Edward's lightning fast hand had hit the side of the truck with a loud "Bam!" and he quickly swung my legs around so they wouldn't be run over, pulling me away to safety.
It all happened so fast that I was sure that not even ten seconds had passed before everything finally went still.
"Arsinoë, are you alright?" My savior asked frantically. I blinked, dazed and mind still rushing to digest what had just happened.
"I knew I shouldn't have woke up this morning." I grumbled irritably. Edward chuckled, sounding almost breathless with relief and I swore I felt him pull me closer to his side.
And then the full weight of what just happened finally hit me, and holy shit I'd almost been crushed by a van , "Are you alright?" I asked, looking at him worriedly, because while I knew objectively that it'd take more damage than a flimsy van to injure any vampire, when someone literally throws themselves in front of you, you have the right to be concerned.
He seemed almost bemused at my concern, "I'm alright, thank you." He answered after a few moments, brows furrowed slightly as he regarded me, but I was still jittery with nerves, and his response wasn't entirely satisfying.
"Your hand isn't broken or anything?" I asked seriously, and this time he actually laughed a little, probably thinking me absurd, but I couldn't help it, it was a worrisome situation.
"I'm fine, Arsinoë," Edward told me, voice laced with amusement, "More importantly, I think you hit your head. You might have a concussion."
He was right about me hitting my head during the chaos, but I was sure that it wasn't as serious as he'd assumed, the pain had long disappeared.
"Don't move! An ambulance has been called and they will arrive shortly!" Mrs Cope called out, her voice was frantic. "Is anyone hurt?" She demanded, horror filling her voice.
"We're alright Mrs Cope." Edward answered, voice steady, ignoring all the other calls of people trying to check if we're alright.
"I don't have a concussion, I'm fine." I told him with a huff of exasperation.
The dark haired vampire looked unconvinced, "You don't know that," he said, but I shook my head stubbornly.
"I'm fine."
We were so close it was overwhelming, secluded in such a tight space with no choice but to press against each other. It made it hard to think when I was so completely enveloped in his scent. " You can let go of me." I said pushing at his chest softly in an attempt to get some breathing room. "I'm not about to faint or anything." I said to him, trying to smile reassuringly. He frowned, but nonetheless let me go. I missed the contact immediately, but being so close to him wasn't good for my heart.
The newfound space between us was still far less than I would have liked, and the whole thing felt awfully intimate, like it was two of us, disconnected from the rest of the world, but it was a little better than before.
"What's this?" He asked suddenly, picking up a sleek black object and looking at it in interest.
"Oh, my phone," I gasped in surprise. It must've fallen out of my pocket sometime during the chaos. I thanked the heavens it hadn't been crushed during everything. I pounced on it gratefully, hardly registering that I'd landed in his lap all over again, and pressed the power button. It lit up brightly, showing the screen-lock photo of Lucy and I using the doggy Snapchat filters, and I drew the pattern on the screen to unlock it. Much to my relief, it was fine, aside from a slight scratch at the back from where it had skid. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"What type of a phone is that?" Edward asked curiously from above me, and I froze in his lap.
My phone was a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, all fancy sleek lines and curved screen. It wasn't supposed to exist until ten years from now. And now, in my panic I had shown him a very advanced piece of technology which I'm sure with all of his contacts, he hadn't even heard of. And now he was suspicious of me. Which wasn't a good thing.
"Shit." Was all I could say.
The moment the nurses finally released me from their evil clutches after forcing me to get a cat scan, I slid my boots back on, grabbed my patient file, and left the room, ignoring Tyler's sputtered protests all the while.
If what I suspected was correct (and I had a feeling it would be, if we were following canon), then it would be Carlisle who came to examine me personally, and not some random doctor like I wanted. I couldn't let that happen, because Carlisle alone seeing my medical records was something I could begrudgingly accept, he was a good doctor, and knew the importance of patient confidentiality -but patient confidentiality meant jack shit when a mind-reader was in the room, and that was something I would not accept.
I snuck in the woman's bathroom, and dialed my father, hoping against hope, that he'd actually answer his private phone for the first time in his life.
The phone rang for over a minute, and just when I thought he wouldn't answer, he did. "Kitty-cat! How're you?" He asked, voice sounding genuinely happy to hear from me.
I didn't have time to waste, "Pa, I've been in an accident-"
"What?" he demanded, but I quickly shushed him,
"I'm fine, I'm at the hospital and I'm not injured, but Pa, please, you can't let them examine me, you just can't!" I begged fervently, and he made a sound of incomprehension.
"Kitty-cat," he started reluctantly, obviously about to refuse, but I jumped in before he could.
"I'm fine, really I am. Please Pa, call Aunt Anna if you have to, she can examine me at home, I'd rather have her, I trust her." I stressed the word trust, so he'd understand what I meant, and prayed he caught on.
"Ah, I see." He said, realization colouring his tone, and thank the Gods that it did, "Which hospital are you at? I'll call in and see what I can do."
I gave him the name, and after a promise to call later and explain just what the hell had happened, hung up with a great sigh of relief, because bullet dodged.
I went back to the room in much spirits than I'd left it, a smile of triumph on my face when I stepped in, knowing that I was practically home free.
"I'm so, so sorry, Noë. It all happened so fast. I hit the ice wrong and next thing I knew I'd lost control." Tyler apologised sincerely from his bed the moment I stepped back in. I gave him a smile, stepping to his bed side and patting his hand to reassure him, my file tucked under my other arm.
"Hey, its all good. No worries, Edward pulled me out of the way before anything could happen." I explained easily. Tyler looked confused, and his brows furrowed.
"Edward?" He asked, lost.
"Edward Cullen." I replied dryly. Tyler nodded, recognition dawning on his face.
"Well, as long as you're okay..." He said, brows still furrowed in concern, and I smiled again to reassure him, giving him one last pat before moving away.
Edward Cullen. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to him. The way he looked at me when I tried to stammer out a response made it clear that he was suspicious of me. I'd honestly had no idea how to answer his question about my phone and it'd been a tense five seconds after I'd uttered that single word.
Most people wouldn't be as worried as I was over a stupid phone. They would just construct a lie and be done with it. But Vampires were different. You couldn't lie to a vampire. Vampires were paranoid creatures. The Cullens already had enough reason to be suspicious of me, considering Edward couldn't read my mind and all, and now this was just another thing to add onto the list of ever growing mysteries.
It didn't bode well for my plan of lying low.
Just then, Edward swept in the room, and gave me a clear look of disapproval when he saw me on my feet.
I glared at him defiantly.
"Hey man, I'm really sorry-"Tyler started sincerely but Edward raised a hand to cut him off and shot him a kind smile, making my heart beat a little bit faster.
Control yourself, Arsinoë
"It's alright. No blood, no foul." He said, then he chuckled a bit at his own joke and I just rolled my eyes, drawing his attention from Tyler.
The look of displeasure was back, but all I did was cross my arms and raise a brow at him.
"Why are you on your feet? You're supposed to be in bed." He frowned at the file in my hand, "And you're not supposed to have that."
My lips quirked victoriously, "I'm on my feet because I'm fine, even the nurses cleared me. And this is my file isn't it? I have the right to do what I want with it." I told him.
He crossed his own arms, clearly not about to go down without a fight, "Your supposed to have an actual doctor examine you, Arsinoë." Edward said, voice sounding a mix between exasperated and frustrated.
My smile widened, "No need, I assure you."
And just as I said that, the doors opened and in walked in the most beautiful doctor I'd ever seen in my life.
Carlisle Cullen was a sight to see. No wonder all the nurses fawned over him, and I wouldn't be surprised if women -and some men- injured themselves purposely just to be treated by him.
He was like Edward, there was just no way to describe him, with his perfect silver hair and golden eyes. And then a cough snapped me out of my daze and I looked to my right to see Edward with his arms crossed and glowering at his father and I. I gave him a look of confusion, but didn't say anything.
"Mss Zeidan, it seems you won't need to be examined after all." Carlisle said, a slight furrow between his brows as his golden eyes flickered between his son and I, clearly catching onto the tension. Tyler, who'd been quietly watching from the background, had wisely been silent during the whole affair.
Edward wasn't pleased, "But-" He started, but I didn't let him.
"I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Sir. I'm sure you have more important patients to attend to, so I'll just be going then. Thanks so much for everything!" I said cheerfully, before hastily booking it out the room before I could be stopped, my patient file still in hand.
I barely cleared the hallway and made it to the elevator before Edward was upon me, backing me up against a wall with an expression that said I wouldn't be getting away as easily as I'd hoped. Honestly, as I stared at the metal doors of the elevator, I contemplated just trying my luck and lunging for them, but I knew very well that I wasn't nearly fast enough. There was no one else down this corridor, so I couldn't even use a third party to escape. I contemplated, just for second, faking sickness and pretending to pass out, but the idea was discarded even before it was fully formed.
Instead, I squared my shoulders and stared right up at him, holding the file behind my back so he couldn't reach it in case he tried.
"Edward," I acknowledged in a neutral voice. "Might I ask why you've decided to physically prevent my departure?"
"You owe me an explanation." He declared simply.
I sniffed, "I owe you nothing."
"Think of it as a thank you for saving your life then." He said, smirking.
"And here I thought you'd done it out of the kindness of your heart." I drawled, frowning at him, before relenting, albeit reluctantly. He was right, he had saved me from imminent death, and for that I did owe him. "Alright, I'll give you your explanation, though I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to."
"The phone, Arsinoë." He said pointedly, and I blinked unsuspectingly, going for innocence.
"Its just that, a phone. I don't understand why you're making such a big deal about it." I replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Edward didn't buy my act, instead he simply rose a dark brow at me, "Ah, but its not just the phone, impressive as it may be." He said airily, and my brows furred in confusion, "The cultural references no one understands, your occasional slip ups regarding the dates, music that by all rights, doesn't exist, lack of knowledge regarding current events -the list goes on." He said, and my insides froze.
"I don't know what you mean." I said, and he looked almost insulted that I doubted his intelligence so much.
"Don't you? So you don't accidentally write 'twenty-sixteen' as the year in your notebook, on multiple occasion?" He inquired, head tilted slightly as he stared down at me.
And fuck because I did, so often that even Mr Banner had jokingly called me out on it during class at one point. It was a habit I still wasn't able to shake off, try as I might.
But I hadn't thought that Edward had been paying so much attention to me, especially because we hadn't known each other all that long, but such a notion was a foolish thing on my part. The guy was a Mind-reading Vampire, he noticed everything.
Well if he wanted to play it that way...
Gathering my courage, I stared back at him unflinchingly, "Just how did you get to me so fast, Edward?" I hummed pleasantly, and abruptly his expression turned to stone, his golden eyes darkening, and I gave myself a mental pat on the back. He'd underestimated me, probably thought I'd bow easily and spill all my secrets, but if there was one thing about me, its that I was stubborn.
Edward tried for diplomacy, friendliness even, and he had such good control over his masks that I had to marvel. "What are you talking about? I was right next to you." He said, voice even and reasonable, as if I were the one being totally absurd. If it was anyone else, they would've believed it no questions asked. He may not have had Jasper's gift of influencing others, but I had no doubt that Edward wasn't talented in his own right.
I smiled, "Oh were you?" I hummed thoughtfully, placing a finger on my chin in faux a contemplation, "Hmm, no. No I don't think you were. In fact, I distinctly remember you being all the way across the parking lot."
"I was standing right next you and pulled you out of the way." He said, tone steady and yet light. The perfect way to deceive anyone, but I wasn't having it.
"How'd you do it?" I asked again, smiling wider, "Flight? Teleportation? super-speed?" I said the last option intentionally, leaving no room to mistake the true meaning of my words. If he was going to confront me about my existence in this world, I sure as hell wouldn't go down easily.
A positively animalistic hiss sounded from him, the kind that no human vocal chords could make, because he wasn't human, and I should never forget that. He took a menacing step closer, "What do you know?" He demanded, voice deadly enough to fell even the strongest of warriors.
But good sense had long left me, and I didn't back down. I took a step closer, closing the distance between us, and at this point my smirk was positively predatory.
I was being stupid, careless, reckless, all that I knew. I had nothing to back up my brazenness, but I was too far gone to care. I felt an odd disconnection from the whole thing, and I guessed that was mostly what was fulling me to go on, like someone else had taken over my body and garnered full control.
"Don't involve yourself in things that don't concern you." I said simply, the words forming of their own volition.
Another hiss, more dangerous than the last, his eyes practically the black they'd been when I'd first met him, blazing coldly, and if I'd been in my right mind, his demeanor would have been enough to take me down for the count. As I was though, I couldn't be bothered to feel more than amusement.
Suddenly, we were interrupted by the elevator doors opening, a young looking nurse stepping out from it. She dropped her tray of medical tools with a loud gasp when she picked up on just how tense the atmosphere was, her eyes clicking between the two of us like she was watching a tennis match, metal tray discarded at her feet.
I chose that opportunity to escape, quickly stepping in just before the doors closed.
The last thing I saw were Edward's cold, glaring onyx eyes narrowed at me.
Jessica had kindly dropped me home, genuinely worried about my well being and constantly inquiring if I needed anything, to which I could only numbly reply with halfhearted words to alleviate her fears. She also retrieved my backpack from the scene of the accident for me, bless her, and after bidding me goodbye and wishing me well, and a command to call if I needed anything, she drove off with a wave. I waited till she was out of sight, before my forced smile slipped off and died a pitiful death. I stumbled up the drive way on jellylegs and barely managed to enter the house without falling over.
"Oh Gods." I breathed in horror, immediately collapsing at the threshold upon closing the door behind me. I sat leaning dumbly on our entrance door, my legs bonelessly flopped in front of me, my arms limp at my sides. I stared at our large foyer, sightlessly gazing up the stairs that led to the second floor, my mind only just pulling itself together.
"Oh Gods." I gasped desperately, because what in the name of all things holy, had possessed me to go against a fully grown, powerful vampire with an appetite for my blood?
"Have mercy on my soul, Anubis, for I have been an idiot, and probably won't live to see tomorrow morning." I prayed fervently in Arabic, clapping my hands together and hoping with all hope that I'd be heard.
Because Edward was surely developing a plan to murder me right now, conversing with Jasper and Rosalie about the best way to do it without implicating their family. I could see it already, they knew my aunt was gone, that no one would likely pay me a visit, they'd come in the night while I was asleep and quietly suffocate me to death, and when my body was finally discovered after a few days, the doctors would probably just chalk it up to a random sickness. Carlisle as kind as he was, would do anything to protect his family, and him being a respected doctor at Forks General Hospital didn't help me much. If he decided to say I died from a spontaneous Ebola contraction, the fuck, Ebola it was.
Slowly I curled up into a fetal position, uncaring of the cold tile beneath me, and wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to comfort myself.
Its fine, I thought. I'd had a long run, dying at seventeen years old wasn't so bad, really, and anyway it felt more like seventy instead, with how weary I was inside. All I good do was just accept it and move on, maybe write a will too.
It'd be unfortunate of course, that I wouldn't see Lucy or my family once last time, and poor Aunty Zaho and Nina, they'd come home and find me dead, and probably blame themselves for the rest of their lives. I made a mental note to write a letter to them, 'No guys, It wasn't your fault, I was just killed by my own idiocy'
Yeah, that would do nicely.
I took a deep breath and told myself that it would all be okay, and maybe even me 'dying' would send me back to my original world, and I could thus pretend that everything had been a bad dream.
I didn't even know what had happened, the whole encounter was all a hazy image in my head, as if it had happened many years ago instead of less than an hour previous. I didn't understand what had spurred me on to such extreme levels, because sure I was pretty brave on my own, I wasn't stupid enough to goad a vampire. And that was the problem; I hadn't felt like myself at all. It felt instead like someone else had taken the reigns and was directing it all despite my own will. I worried that this was a sign of me showing a tendency for disassociation all over again, something I hadn't done in over a year.
Pull yourself together, a voice inside me commanded in a no-nonsense tone, and I nodded in confirmation, agreeing with it. I pushed myself up in an upright position, getting to my feet with a look of determination on my face.
I couldn't just flop down and let myself go, no matter how hopeless the situation might've seemed. Even if I was about to be killed by a bunch of murderous vampires, I most definitely wouldn't make the job easy.
You're strong, a voice that sounded remarkably like Lucianna reminded me, and my fists clenched tightly.
"I'm strong." I repeated with a smile.